Earl Wild 20th & 21st Century Piano Sonatas20th & 21st Century Piano Sonatas85th Birthday Tribute85th Birthday TributeEarl WildEarl Wild

Barber Sonata, Op.26 (1949) k Hindemith Sonata No.3 (1936)

Stravinsky Sonata (1924) k Wild Sonata (2000) World Premiere

Barber Sonata, Op.26 (1949) k Hindemith Sonata No.3 (1936)

Stravinsky Sonata (1924) k Wild Sonata (2000) World Premiere

Earl Wild: Four 20th and 21st Century Sonatas

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Sonata, Opus 26 (1949)I. Allegro energicoII. Allegro vivace e leggieroIII. Adagio mestoIV. Fuga: Allegro con spirito

Samuel Barber was born on March 9, 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Hisfather was a physician and his mother a sister of the famous American contralto, LouiseHomer. From the time he was six years old, Barber’s musical gifts were apparent, and atthe age of 13 he was accepted as one of the first students to attend the newly establishedCurtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. There he studied with Rosario Scalero (com-position), Isabelle Vengerova (piano), and Emilio de Gogorza (voice). Although hebegan composing at the age of seven, he undertook it seriously at 18. Recognition of hisgifts as a composer came quickly. In 1933 the Philadelphia Orchestra played hisOverture to “The School for Scandal” and in 1935 the New York Philharmonic presentedhis Music for a Scene from Shelley. Both early compositions won considerable acclaim.Between 1935 and 1937 Barber was awarded the Prix de Rome and the Pulitzer Prize.

He achieved overnight fame on November 5, 1938 when Arturo Toscanini con-ducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Barber’s Essay for Orchestra No.1 and Adagiofor Strings. The Adagio became one of the most popular American works of seriousmusic, and through some lurid aberration of circumstance, it also became a favoriteselection at state funerals and as background for death scenes in movies. During WorldWar II, Barber served in the Army Air Corps. He composed his Second Symphony on acommission from the Air Force. The Adagio for Strings was obviously not the only workBarber composed. He wrote three operas (Vanessa, received the 1958 Pulitzer Prize),two ballets (Medea and Souvenirs ), three Essays for orchestra, two symphonies, concer-tos for violin, piano and cello, many vocal works, chamber, piano and chorus music.

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His music has been called“romantic,” however his tech-nical idiom is decidedly mod-ern. His melodies are broadlysongful; his harmonies areopulent; his orchestration isresplendent with color. DavidEwen stated, “As Barber’s tal-ent ripened, he added poeticfeeling to his lyricism. And,towards the end of his lifethere was a growing intensityand strength of idiom in hiswriting. But his lyricismalways remained on a highplane of eloquence; and theemotional factor never wassacrificed.” Samuel OsmondBarber II died on 23 January1981 in New York after aseries of sporadic hospitaliza-tions and a stroke.

Writing the obituary forthe New York Times, DonaldHenahan stated: “Through-out his career, Samuel Barberwas hounded by success.Probably no other Americancomposer enjoyed such early,

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persistent and such long lasting acclaim... One reason for the acceptance won by Mr.Barber’s music – apart from its undeniable craft and thorough professionalism – was itsdeep-seated conservatism, which audiences could find congenial even at first hearing.Although he often dealt in pungent dissonances and complex rhythms, like most of his20th-century contemporaries, there was a lyrical quality even to his strictly instrumentalpieces that from the first established him as a neo-Romantic...”

Barber’s solo instrumental compositions include works for piano, two-pianos, caril-lon and organ. Of these, twenty-nine works have yet to be published. The remainingeleven works comprise one suite for carillon, one set of variations for organ, and ninecompositions for piano.

One of the great landmarks of American piano music is Barber’s monumentalSonata for Piano, Opus 26. It was commissioned in the fall of 1947 by Irving Berlin andRichard Rodgers in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the League of Composers.Although Barber found it relatively easy to begin composing the work, it took himnearly two years to complete it. The holograph score at the Library of Congress showsthe completion date of June 1949. Its premiere in New York on 23 January 1950 in thehands of Vladimir Horowitz turned the musical world on its ears. Vladimir Horowitz,who was undoubtedly intrigued by its ferocious technical demands, quickly becameBarber’s most vocal supporter, claiming the Sonata was “the first truly great native workin the form.” The technically demanding work frightened a lot of professional pianistsaway for a while, however, no serious musician could ignore the work for long. It soonbecame the most played American piano composition and a required work at just aboutevery piano competition in the world. Despite Horowitz’s close association with theSonata, the work was actually not written with him in mind. In an interview on WQXRwith Robert Sherman, Barber stated that he had no particular pianists in mind when hebegan writing the work: “I just started to write a sonata.” Regardless, the support andnumerous performances by Horowitz only strengthened the work’s impact and eventualplace in music’s “hall of fame.” Olin Downes, writing in the New York Times, said:“We consider it the first sonata really to come of age by an American composer of this

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period. It has intense feeling as well as constructive power and intellectual maturity. It isstated naturally and convincingly in the language of modern music.” The Sonata is castin four movements. The first movement begins with a steel-fingered chromaticism,through which flickers a poignant, lyric theme. It is answered by a brusque fragmentbuilt up from dissonant intervals. At the movement’s conclusion the left hand ends inan angry grumble, while the right evaporates in a mist of feathery, upward strokes. Thesecond movement is a sort of super-scherzo. According to musicologist Charles Briefer,“The germinal element is akin to feathery strokes that ended the first movement,though here they are inverted into a downward loop. The same “feathers” form them-selves into helpless bird cries at the outset of the third movement, while a theme tries toassert itself in the left hand. A treble melody appears which seems related to the lyrictheme that opened the first movement. Suddenly there is a distinct shift in mood andcharacter. The pervading chromaticism is gone, leaving behind a quiet, almostHindemithian aura of neo-classicism to fade away to nothing. The fourth and finalmovement, a fugue, takes off like a canon (no pun intended). Like the first movement itis quick and agitated, full of fugal entries, inversions, strettos and what-have-you. It isby far the most dazzling and concise of the four movements: with immense energy ithurtles to its violent and cataclysmic end.” When Francis Poulenc heard Barber’sSonata in 1950, he remarked: “The Sonata pleases me without reserve. It is a remarkablework from both the musical and instrumental point of view. In turn, tragical, joyousand songful, it ends up with a fantastically difficult to play fugue. Bursting with energy,this finale knocks you out in (something less than) five minutes!”

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Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Sonata (1924)I. � = 112II. AdagiettoIII. � = 112

From the moment of the first performance of his music for the ballet Firebird onJune 25, 1910, when he was just 28, Igor Stravinsky has never been out of the publicear as one of the great, original creative geniuses in the entire history of music.

During the intervening sixty years, his music reshaped the music that followed it. Inan unprecedented achievement, almost every note of music, starting from his Opus 1,which was his first symphony, to his last completed compositions, dated 1967,Stravinsky has recorded as conductor or was directly in charge of the recording sessions.

Born in the heyday of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky wasquickly plunged into working association with Serge Diaghilev, Nijinsky, Fokine,Pavlova and Karsavina in the dazzling world of Russian ballet. The century’s great artis-tic names – Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Chirico, Rodin, Cocteau, Gide – were among hisintimates. And the world of musicians held no man in higher respect. Stravinskyenjoyed the warm friendship and unfettered admiration of conductors Koussevitsky,Reiner, Klemperer and Stokowski, and of such renowned composers as Chavez,Sessions and Prokofiev. He was a guest of honor at a White House dinner during theKennedy administration. As an author, Stravinsky, was one of very few composers toever commit to print as many of his ideas on art and esthetics, religion, philosophy, andchanging customs. Today we remember Igor Stravinsky for his masterpieces Firebird,Petrouchka, The Rite of Spring, The Soldier’s Tale, Pulcinella, Oedipus Rex, Symphony inC, and many other works. But his piano compositions are not often performed.

Although originally trained as a pianist, Stravinsky wrote relatively little for thepiano. In all, there are about a dozen compositions and transcriptions. The best known(and most often performed) are the three pieces from Petrouchka.

The Sonata for piano was composed at Biarritz and Nice in 1924 and dedicated to

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Princess Edmond de Poli-gnac. In his Chronicle Stra-vinsky writes: “I gave it thattitle without, however, wish-ing to give it the classicalform that we find inClementi, Haydn and Mozart,and which (as is generallyknown) is conditioned by theuse of the so-called SonataAllegro. I used the termsonata in its original meaning,as being derived from sonare,in contrast to cantare and itsderivation cantata. Conse-quently I did not feel myselfrestricted to the form that hasbecome customary since theend of the eighteenth centu-ry.” Additionally he statedthat at this time he “wished toexamine more closely thesonatas of the classical mastersin order to trace the directionand development of theirthought in solving problemsof form.” Stravinsky studiedthe Beethoven sonatas,replaying many of them in

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order to renew his acquaintance with a composer he said “must be recognized as one ofthe world’s greatest musical geniuses.” The evocation of Beethoven’s spirit is moststrongly evident in the middle Adagietto. In the opening movement the right handmelody and left hand accompaniment are often independent and frequently do notcoincide resulting in a curiously blurred registration. The finale resembles a bustlingtwo-part invention. The first performance of the Piano Sonata was given by the com-poser at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice on September 8, 1925.

Earl Wild (b.1915): Sonata (2000)I. Allegro (March)II. AdagioIII. Toccata (a la Ricky Martin)

Earl Wild writes: I’m happy to say that I had a friendship with all four of the composers represented

on this disc – although one of the relationships has been a little more intimate. I haveperformed both the Hindemith 3rd and the Stravinsky Sonatas in public many timessince the 1940’s. The Barber Sonata however, is a first performance for me. I have thegreatest admiration for this wonderful piece. It was a pleasure for me to prepare it forthis recording. I completed work on my Sonata only days before entering the recordingstudio. I’ve written it in the traditional three-movement style. My exasperation with thetwelve-tone movement has led me to think in a more popular vein. My Sonata is nei-ther pretentious nor overly intellectual. It’s purely an expression of a few moments inmy long life.

The first movement has a very “bluesy” element throughout along with an intrigu-ing melody that I remembered my grandmother sang to me from her civil war past. Thesecond movement is very melancholy with occasional references to popular music of the1920’s. As I began work on the third movement, it immediately took on a LatinAmerican rhythm, which then led me to the Toccata form. The melody in the middle

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contains 100 consecutive B’s in the left hand. Being familiar with the huge success ofthe Puerto Rican singer, Ricky Martin, whom I have seen perform on TV and innumerous interviews, I decided to tailor the movement toward his style. My admirationfor his political stance is augmented by the total ease and charm with which he carrieshimself (both on and off stage).

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): Sonata No.3 (1936)I. Ruhig bewegtII. Sehr lebhaftIII. Mäßig schnellIV. Fuge: Lebhaft

In 1922, when he was twenty-seven years old, Paul Hindemith wrote the followingautobiography:

“I was born in Hanau in 1895. Music study from age of twelve. As violinist, violist,pianist, or percussionist I have made a thorough survey of the following musical territories:chamber music of all kinds, cinema, café, dance music, operetta, jazz and, military music. Ihave been leader of the Frankfurt Orchestra since 1916. As composer, I have chiefly writtenpieces I don’t like anymore: chamber music for the most diverse ensembles, songs and piano.Also three one-act operas, which will probably remain the only ones since as a result of risingprices on the manuscript market only small scores can now be written.”

This passage speaks much of his personality: unpretentious, straightforward, down-to-earth, ironic and, as the reference to inflation indicates, politically aware.

“The horizon of a creative musician cannot be stretched far enough. His desire toacquire knowledge and understanding has to permeate every phrase of his creativity.”Hindemith wrote this, his musical creed, in A Composer’s World (1952). In his searchfor knowledge, he acquired a remarkable degree of craftsmanship in composition. Hisorchestral experiences enabled him to gain a phenomenal knowledge of the sonoritiesand capabilities of all instruments. Though many of his early works were regarded as

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revolutionary, he differed inone important aspect fromthe avant-garde composers ofthe period: while theViennese School (ArnoldSchoenberg, Alban Berg,Anton Webern, etc.) empha-sized the equality of all twelvenotes in a scale, Hindemithstressed their relative valuesand referred them to a freebut well-defined, easily recog-nizable tonality.

Although originally astring player, Hindemith, as acomposer, devoted almostequal attention to the piano.While still a student at theconservatory he composedpiano pieces. The piano alsowas an indispensible partner-ing instrument for his count-less songs and sonatas withother instruments. An accom-plished pianist as well,Hindemith recorded his ownSonata for Piano Four Hands(1938) with Jesus MariaSanromá. In his numerous

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piano works, Hindemith discovered new tone colors of the piano, especially in theextreme treble range, and developed his own pianistic style far removed from the virtu-oso tradition of Liszt, Busoni or Scriabin or Debussy and Ravel. He viewed the piano asa toy with tones, “as an interesting type of percussion instrument”, and later on as aneutral sound enabling a single player to play polyphonically. It was this neutralitywhich he so loved about the piano. He once stated that he wished neither “orgies ofsound nor the voluptuous expression of a cantilena” in his piano music.

Between 1935 and 1943 Hindemith wrote a series of Sonatas, one or more foralmost every instrument. The Violin Sonata in E was the first in the series, followedimmediately by the three Piano Sonatas of 1936. Each of the three piano sonatas aredistinctly different – the First is richly charged and full of tension, the Second is out-wardly simple, cleverly hiding its artful and detailed workmanship, and the ThirdSonata is songful, polyphonic and grandiose. The noted German musicologist H.H.Stuckenschmidt wrote after the prèmiere: “There is no doubt that Hindemith has madea harmonic simplification in this music which must be taken as a reaction against thedissonance technic of modern music. Harmonically, he works a great deal with triadeffects... But he does not surrender the freedom of modulation known to modernmusic. There are polyphonic passages, sharply dissonant groupings, and decidedly het-erophonic parts; single themes almost seem to conform to the twelve-tone principle...”A song-like element predominates the first movement. Jolly and witty, the secondmovement could have been called a “scherzo.” The slow movement is a polyphonicmarch leading up to a grandiose double fuguein the finale, in the style of Max Regerrather than J.S. Bach.

– Notes by Marina and Victor Ledin, Copyright ©2000

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Earl Wild“When Earl Wild performs, the Golden Age of the keyboard suddenly reappears.”

TIME Magazine (1995)l l l l l l l l

Earl Wild is a pianist in the grand Romantic tradition. His legendary career, so dis-tinguished and long, has continued for well over 70 years. Born in 1915, in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, Earl Wild’s technical accomplishments are often likened to what those ofLiszt himself must have had. Born with absolute pitch he started playing the piano atthree. Having studied with great pianists such as Egon Petri, his lineage can be tracedback to Scharwenka, Busoni, Ravel, d’Albert and Liszt himself.

Earl Wild’s career is dotted with musical legends. As a young pianist he was soloistwith Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. Since then he has performed withvirtually every major conductor and symphony orchestra in the world. Rachmaninovwas an important idol in his life. It’s been said of Earl Wild, “He’s the incarnation ofRachmaninov, Lhevinne and Rosenthal rolled into one!” In 1986 after hearing himplay three sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts, devoted to Liszt, honoring the centenaryof that composer’s death, one critic said, “I find it impossible to believe that he playedthose millions of notes with 70-year-old fingers, so fresh-sounding and precise werethey. Perhaps he has a worn-out set up in his attic, a la Oscar Wilde’s Picture ofDorian Gray.”

He’s one of the few American pianists to have achieved international as well asdomestic celebrity. He has performed for six Presidents of the United States, beginningwith Herbert Hoover, and in 1939, was the first classical pianist to give a recital on thenew medium of Television. At fourteen he was performing in the Pittsburgh Symphonywith Otto Klemperer as well as working at radio station KDKA, where he played manyof his own compositions. As a virtuoso pianist, composer, transcriber, conductor, editorand teacher, Mr. Wild continues in the style of the legendary great artists of the past.

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In addition to his distinguished concert career, which encompasses performanceswith conductors such as Stokowski, Reiner, Maazel, Solti and Mitropoulos, and artistslike Callas, Tourel, Pons, Melchior, Peerce and Bumbry, Wild successfully shines asboth a conductor and composer. His Easter oratorio, Revelations, was broadcast by theABC network in 1962 and again in 1964. Wild’s recent composition, Variations on aTheme of Stephen Foster for piano and orchestra (“Doo-Dah” Variations), premiered withWild as soloist with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra in 1992. Earl Wild has beencalled “the finest transcriber of our time,” and his many piano transcriptions are widelyknown and respected.

This eminent pianist has built an extensive repertoire over the years, which includesboth the standard and modern literature. He has become world renown in particular forhis brilliant performances of the virtuoso Romantic works. Today at 85, Mr. Wild con-tinues to record and perform concerts throughout the world. In 1997, he won aGrammy® Award for his disc, “The Romantic Master” – Virtuoso PianoTranscriptions. Praised by critics and music lovers around the world as a “stunningdocument of musical sensitivity and virtuosity” and “a tribute to America’s greatestpianistic treasure” – this CD is once again available in its original HDCD state-of-the-art audiophile sound on Ivory Classics® (70907).

Along with the release of over 20 other CDs in the last 10 years, when he was 79,Earl Wild recorded a well received Beethoven disc which included the monumentalHammerklavier Sonata, as well as another disc composed of Rachmaninov’s Preludesand the Second Piano Sonata. Earl Wild is an exclusive Ivory Classics® artist. This20th and 21st Century Piano Sonatas recording is being released in celebration of his85th birthday.

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Creditsl l l l l l l l

Recorded at Fernleaf Abbey, Columbus, Ohio, October 1999 and April 2000

Original 24-Bit Master

Producer: Michael Rolland Davis

Recording Engineer: Ed Thompson

Piano Technician: Edd Kolakowski

Generous assistance came from the Michael Palm Foundation and Ivory Classics Foundation

Earl Wild’s Sonata was commissioned by the JS Charitable Trust, Chicago, Illinois

Liner Notes: Marina and Victor Ledin

Design: Communication Graphics

CD Cover: Tapestry by Carla Lavatalli (1975)

Inside Tray Photo: Earl Wild (1994), Photo by Michael Rolland Davis

Recorded direct to the Sadie Artemis 24-Bit High Resolution disk editor

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Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: http://www.IvoryClassics.com

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Samuel Barber: Sonata, Opus 26 (1949) 18:03I. Allegro energico 6:18II. Allegro vivace e leggiero 2:00III. Adagio mesto 5:06IV. Fuga: Allegro con spirito 4:39

Igor Stravinsky: Sonata (1924) 9:46I. � =112 2:56II. Adagietto 4:11III. � =112 2:39

Earl Wild: Sonata (2000) World Premiere 19:16I. Allegro (March) 7:04II. Adagio 7:00III. Toccata (a la Ricky Martin) 5:07

Paul Hindemith: Sonata No.3 (1936) 15:31I. Ruhig bewegt 4:13II. Sehr lebhaft 2:50III. Mäßig schnell 4:19IV. Fuge: Lebhaft 4:09

Total Playing Time : 63:08Producer: Michael Rolland Davis • Engineer: Ed Thompson

Original 24-Bit Master

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